Surrey showcases police car for a city force B.C. has not yet approved

You’ve heard of putting the cart before the horse? Here’s putting the police car before the force.

The showcasing of a “Surrey Police” car outside City Hall today is raising eyebrows as the provincial government has not yet approved city council’s plan to transition from the RCMP to a made-in-Surrey police force.

The Surrey RCMP declined to comment Tuesday morning on the display as Mayor Doug McCallum delivered his first state of the city address.

At council’s inaugural meeting on Nov. 5th, it served notice to the provincial and federal governments that Surrey is ending its contract with the RCMP – which has policed these parts since May 1, 1951 – to set up its own force.

“The only thing I can say is we have not seen the report,” said Jinny Sims, NDP MLA for Surrey-Panorama. “I know the solicitor general is waiting for the report and we will give it a very serious study because our primary goal is to ensure that there is a safe and judicious transition, if there is one.”